Recipes

Keeping Pace

21 Apr 2013

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Life keeps flying by doesn’t it? It’s been 6 years since I started this blog. I find lately, my posts come in ebbs and flows. I guess this is an ebb time. I’d like to share a few things I have been doing. I have found a great pin for a weeks worth of dinners for under $100 from Fitness Magazine. Of course, it’s a bit more to do it organic, but it’s a great menu and allows you to use every bit of the groceries. A few of my favorite recipes from this menu are:

Mediterranean Chicken
Mediterranean Chicken

Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Beef Soba Salad
Beef Soba Salad

As you can see, it was a fantastic menu. The Chimichurri is AMAZING. I even used the leftovers on my salad the next day. I will be making that again soon. I was also very pleased with the carrot and ginger dressing for the soba salad. All good things. You must try it!

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Creamy Chicken and Dumplings

25 Mar 2013

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Going into my second spring of eating clean, I am much more confident in my cooking. I have learned a lot of basic cooking techniques, you know, cooking the way you should! I did shy away from some of my favorite comfort foods. I was intimidated by making them clean. Boy, am I silly. Creamy Chicken and Dumplings is just one of those recipes I cannot live without. So, here’s how I broke it down…

Chicken and Dumplings - The Pomegranate Chronicles

Creamy Chicken and Dumplings
1 lb organic chicken breast (cubed)
2 Tbs butter
1 ¾ cup chicken broth (fresh is the best)
1 cup whole milk
2 tsp fresh marjoram leaves (3/4 tsp dried)
½ tsp sea salt
1 bag mixed veggies (I prefer Cascadian Farms, but fresh would be even better! Approx. 18 oz or to taste)

Yogurt Drop Dumplings
2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more if needed)
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
5 Tbs butter
7/8 cup plain whole fat yogurt (I use homemade)

1. In Dutch oven (4 quart+) melt 2 Tbs butter, add chicken, and sauté over medium heat until chicken is golden brown.
2. Add broth and deglaze bottom of the pot.
3. Once broth is warm, add milk, marjoram, salt and frozen veggies.
4. Heat mixture until just boiling, and then reduce to bubble gently. (*If mixture is not as thick as you would like, pinch 1 Tbs of butter with 2 Tbs of flour, slowly whisk mixture into the broth and mix well)
5. Prepare dumplings. In a mixer add dry ingredients, cut in butter. Add yogurt and mix until it forms a ball.
6. Be sure bubbles are just breaking the surface of the chicken mixture, drop dumpling mix by spoon into 12 biscuits on top.
7. Cook uncovered for 10 mins, then covered for 10 mins.
8. Scoop out and enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

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Hearty Oatmeal Bake

14 Mar 2013

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Hearty Oatmeal Bake - The Pomegranate Chronicles

Hearty Oatmeal Bake is an easy recipe that will stick to your family’s ribs. I got this recipe from my Mother-in-Law and with a few clean eating alterations, it’s the perfect breakfast treat!

Six ingredients that are in most pantries, coconut oil, eggs, milk, sugar, quick oats and baking powder.

It’s easy to make the night before while dinner is cooking. Once we are eating, I throw it in the oven. By the time the kid has had a book and is in bed, its done. Ready for the next morning.

To serve, cut out a square, heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, add maple syrup and a splash of milk. I hope your family enjoys it as much as we do. An easy nutritious way to get your family started in the morning. Here’s the recipe:

Hearty Oatmeal Bake

1/2 cup coconut oil

2  eggs

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cups sugar

3 cups quick oats

2 tsp baking powder

Directions: mix together oil, sugar and eggs. Add oatmeal, baking powder, milk and blend. Pour into a greased 8×8 baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 mins.

Enjoy!

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Queasy Bake Oven – Cooking Mixes for Boys

7 Jan 2013

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A family friend’s son turned five last week. Knowing how hard it is to have a birthday so close to Christmas, I really try to be creative each year with his gift. Last year, we got him a nice chef hat, mixing utensils, an oven mitt and all the supplies needed to make cupcakes. The kid likes to cook. His Mom and Dad are foodies and spend time in the kitchen. Just after Christmas, my friend posted a picture of this, now five year old, using a hand-me-down Easy Bake Oven. He looked like he was having a blast. Then, it clicked for me…he needed some Easy Bake Oven Recipes for boys. After doing some research, I found this great post from Budget101.com with all kinds of Easy Bake Oven Recipes. When scrolling through all of the great recipes, I saw the short list of “Queasy Bake Oven” recipes, and there my idea was born! Why not take the same recipes and give them yucky, gross names? So here goes…

Queasy Bake Oven - Easy Bake Mixes for Boys! - The Pomegranate Chronicles

I took some snack size ziplock bags, added the ingredients and sealed it up. From there, I put them in brown paper bags. Then I made cute labels with bugs and changed the names of the recipes to peek the interest of any little boy. Then to finish the boy look, I tied each brown bag with twine.

Which recipes did I use from the Budget101.com recipes?

Yellow Cake Mix became Yucky Yellow Mix.

jan2013 031copy

Snow Mound Mix became Snowball Fight Cookies

Queasy Bake Oven - Easy Bake Mixes for Boys - The Pomegranate Chronicles

The Creepin’ Crud Chocolate Mix stayed the same, cuz let’s face it, it’s cool.

Queasy Bake Oven - Easy Bake Recipes for Boys

Then, to explore what other things they could make in their oven, I used Ken’s Deep Dish Pizza recipe. I changed the name to Dirty Dish Pizza (I do feel sorry about this one, Ken seems to really know his pizza, but it’s for the kid!)

Queasy Bake Oven - Easy Bake Mixes for Boys - The Pomegranate Chronicles

I made two packages of each and also included a quick flip book of other recipes from EBOrecipes.com.

Cheesy Bake Hot Dogs became Tader Toes
English Muffin Pizzas became Brain Muffin Pizza
Lasagna became Lizard Lovin’ Lasagna
Quick Quesadillas became Quick Flying Saucers

I also included two of my family frosting recipes:

Fishy Frosting
Ingredients:
1 Large Egg
½ tsp cream of tartar
1 lb confectioners’ sugar

Directions:  Beat the white of one large egg with ½ tsp cream of tartar until foamy. Slowly beat in 1lb confectioners’ sugar until stiff peaks form. Keep covered with a damp cloth.

Cruddy Cream Cheese Frosting
(adapted from Cream Cheese Frosting by foodnetwork.com)
Ingredients:
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

 With all that packaged in a birthday bag, I think we did pretty good this year. Griffin loved them so much, he wants an Easy Bake Oven now! I better keep my eyes out at the thrift stores!

Happy Baking!

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Meatless Monday – Mac and Cheese Style Cauliflower

12 Nov 2012

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I recently repinned this amazing recipe for Mac and Cheese Style Cauliflower to my Feast on This! board on Pinterest. I have been wanting to try it for Meatless Monday. I have to say, it is very, very good!

I started by lightly steaming the cauliflower (it was better that they stayed firm).

Using my dutch oven for this dish, made it transfer from the stove top to oven easily for this simple recipe. Day old Whole Wheat 5 min Bread made for fantastic fresh breadcrumbs. Nutritional yeast is used in this recipe, making it a very hardy dish. Knowing the nutritional value of nutritional yeast, I was excited to finally have a recipe that uses it.

The whole family loved this dish. It has been added to our favorites!

Happy Meatless Monday!

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Love My Crockpot – A Lesson From Jamie Oliver

3 Nov 2012

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Now that we are past the Halloween and Sandy rush, my mind has shifted to comfort food. I have had my crockpot out almost every night. A few months ago, I tried the oven version of Jamie Oliver’s Perfect Roasted Chicken. All I can say about this recipe is that it is perfect. You MUST try it if you haven’t already.

This week I tried the same recipe in my crockpot to see if it would work.

The roasted veggies weren’t as good as the oven, but still good. The chicken was just as FABULOUS! Of course, I used a free range chicken, which can get expensive. So I used the bones and skin to make my chicken broth, making a second meal of chicken soup. This used up the rest of the organic celery, carrots and onions too. I only added two grilled free range chicken breasts because my family prefers white meat in soup.

This gave us dinner for 3 nights total (for a family of 3), making the $8.00 free range chicken well worth the cost. Thank you, Jamie Oliver for inspiring me and families everywhere with your amazing dishes!

What’s in your crockpot as the weather grows cooler?

 

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Clover Inspired Chocolate Chip Muffins

21 Oct 2012

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My favorite blueberry muffin recipe in the whole world is from my great bloggy friend Tracy over at Clover. This recipe has become a family favorite for Sunday morning muffins. These bite size clouds of yumminess always comes out perfect. Last week, I had no more blueberries in my freezer, but did come across some semi-sweet chocolate chips in my pantry.

Following Tracey’s recipe, I combined all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Then I creamed the sugar and butter.

I added a splash more milk until I got the right “muffin” consistency in the mix. Then I simply added the chocolate chips.

This muffin recipe is simply fantastic!

I now want to try cranberries and walnut muffins…apple muffins…or maybe apricots…Her base recipe can’t be beat! (Thanks Tracey!)

**Note: I also omitted the lemon juice – I just wanted to be sure that was on here too!**

Happy Baking!

 

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An Old Recipe Revisited – Apple Glazed Crockpot Pork Roast

15 Oct 2012

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Since last year, our eating habits have changed. This has made me revisit some of our favorite recipes. This comfort food crockpot dish wasn’t changed too much, but I was able to add a few alterations that make it even better than before!

Apple Glazed Pork Roast

Ingredients:
4lbs pork loin roast
6-8 large apples
1/4 cup Angry Orchard Hard Cider (crisp apple)
3 tbl brown sugar
1-2 tsp fresh ground ginger (depending on taste)

Trim excess fat from loin, set aside. Core and quarter apples. Place apple quarters in bottom of crockpot. Place roast on top of apples. Combine cider, brown sugar, and ginger. Spoon over top surface of loin, moistening well. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees (medium well) in the middle.

Serve with apples on top.

Happy Cooking!

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In the Kitchen

In the Kitchen

23 Sep 2012

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Friday night was greeted with a bag full of peppers from the neighbors garden.

This is just a picture of a few of them. I am working through my recipe keeper for all the pepper menu items I can find. I will probably cut up a bunch and put them in the freezer for later use.

Saturday caught me and my favorite Sous Chef working our magic with the mixer.

It makes me so proud to see how much he loves helping in the kitchen. He loves measuring things out and is now starting to help me read the recipes. We baked a loaf of Five Minute Wheat Bread for dipping in olive oil, garlic and rosemary later in the afternoon.

We also worked on a loaf of banana bread. Truth be told, this loaf came out terrible. After trying a few pieces, it went into the trash can. Oh well, can’t win all of them. Do you have a good banana bread recipe to share?

What’s going on in your kitchen?

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Meatless Monday – Roasted Acorn Squash Soup

17 Sep 2012

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The most challenging part in changing our eating habits has been the increase in our grocery bill. I have found that buying organic veggies, grass fed beef, and cage-free chicken adds about 30% to my weekly list. I’ve slowly been adjusting by substituting, buying in-season, being organized and creative. One simple change that has helped me get the most out our menu at the beginning of the week is to follow the blog world in Meatless Mondays.

We were able to easily make this transition in the summer by grilling everything. I have found now that the air has turned cooler, the menu is changing and the new challenge has been meatless comfort food. This week, Acorn Squash was on special at the market and I stumbled upon this great soup that not only includes the squash, but also takes advantage of many in-season ingredients.

This recipe is Roasted Acorn Squash Soup from A Sweet Pea Chef. It’s a simple recipe with a blend of ingredients that pack a big flavor punch. The blend of the sweet squash with the tartness of granny smith apples is accompanied by a kick of ginger making this soup a tasty in-season addition to any budget conscious menu.

What do you do to keep your menu in check?

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